Gas prices on simmer as summer travel season heats up. How the Lehigh Valley compares

Pennsylvania should eliminate it gasoline tax and replace the lost revenue with a sales tax hike, the writer suggests.

That has meant a backlog in work funded by gasoline taxes. More than $8.5 billion worth of highway work and other infrastructure projects across the United States have been canceled or halted temporarily, the American Road and Transportation Builders Association told the Washington Post. Even before the pandemic, many states’ highway funds were becoming depleted, failing to keep up with construction and repair demands. A study completed in 2020 by accounting firm KPMG predicts that miles traveled will remain at about 90% of pre-2020 levels.

The pandemic has focused new attention on a problem that states are grappling with throughout the country. With increased sales of electric vehicles and fuel-efficient vehicles, how should states fund transportation projects? Some are considering levying a tax based on miles driven. Others are promoting green initiatives that could see increases at the pump.

The current 2021 U.S. average tax rate stands at 36.83 per gallon for gasoline and 37.85 for diesel fuel. CoPilot used 2021 data from the American Petroleum Institute to rank states with the highest gasoline and diesel taxes. The states are ranked by the 2021 gasoline tax, ties are broken by the 2021 diesel tax, and further ties are left. Both the state excise tax and other state taxes and fees are included in the tax data points. While this data is current as of Jan. 1, 2021, other federal, state, and local fees could be applied depending on an individual’s vehicle and fuel type, and tax rates are always subject to change based on state legislation. CoPilot also included a data point from the U.S. Federal Highway Administration showing total gasoline use in every state during 2019, the most recent year available.

Think you might be overpaying at the pump? See how your state’s gas taxes compare to other states across the country. Visit thestacker.com for similar lists and stories.

Retail gasoline prices, which had been up and down through March and April in response to supply changes and world events, have been incrementally decreasing in the last several weeks, according to AAA daily surveys. Friday’s national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.609, down a little over a penny from the previous week, and off 7.5 cents from a month ago.

Pump prices are still up 1.6% from last year’s $3.539, but the recent declines will come as welcome news to the record 38.4 million people who will travel by car over the Memorial Day weekend, the highest number for that holiday since AAA began tracking in 2000, according to a recent news release. The number of drivers this year is up 4% compared with last year and 1.9% higher than in 2019.

A total of 43.8 mullion people are projected to utilize all modes of transport to venture at least 50 miles from home over holiday weekend which unofficially inaugurates the summer season. That number is an increase of 2.4% over last year, setting a new high in the travel association’s record books.

The average price belies a wide variation in pump prices across the 50 states and District of Columbia. The south-central states generally have the lowest prices, often led by Mississippi, where the current average is $3.058 per gallon. California once again has the highest average, $5.138 according to Friday’s survey.

Pennsylvania ranks 12th highest in the country — the highest ranking in the northeast or mid-Atlantic region — with a statewide average of $3.776 per gallon of regular. AAA, which surveys retailers in most of the state’s 67 counties, reports that Carbon County is bargain central for tank fillers, with a Friday average of $3.630 per gallon. That compares with Lehigh County’s $3.727 average and Northampton’s $3.654.

The chart below shows average prices in regional metropolitan areas, comparing current prices to those from last week, last month and last year.

As is typical, prices are lower across the Delaware River, with New Jersey averaging $3.510 statewide, ranking it 25th nationwide. At $3.407, Camden County has the lowest average in New Jersey, while Warren County, directly across from Northampton, comes in at $3.491 for a gallon of regular.

The following chart, based on data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, shows the annual percentage increase or decrease in a gallon of conventional regular gasoline in the multistate Central Atlantic region, as reported weekly by EIA.

The EIA also publish data showing production and blending levels of all motor gasoline formulations. Production levels can change substantially from month to month based on facilities shutting down because of reduced demand, severe weather, accidents, or planned shutdowns to change formulations.

The graph below shows the daily average production based on weekly reports along with a 12-week rolling average to show longer-range trends.

Average daily production and blending dropped to 9.26 million barrels per day two months ago, but has since rebounded to about 9.5 million barrels per day. The 12-week average is 3.1% higher than it was last year at this time.